


Nameday

by ddagent



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Birthday Party, F/M, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:00:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23545036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ddagent/pseuds/ddagent
Summary: Brienne's nameday looks to be a disaster until an old friend makes an appearance.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 156
Kudos: 362





	Nameday

**Author's Note:**

> So, TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY! And I am bringing you all a little nameday fluff to celebrate with me. Enjoy!

Brienne was one year older and a bigger laughing stock than before. 

Initially, for her eighteenth nameday, all she’d wanted was tickets to see the new Arthur Dayne movie and a quiet dinner at home. But when she’d mentioned her plans to her lab partner Renly, he’d suggested they go out for drinks and dancing instead. Brienne had been powerless to resist his soft blue eyes and twinkling smile and the prospect of some time alone with her secret crush. But when he and Loras had announced one day after class that they were dating, Brienne’s hopes of a big, romantic nameday were out the window. 

Enter Hyle. 

Brienne was on the rugby team with him and a few of his friends. They saw how despondent she was and, after some gentle cajoling, she admitted her hopes for her nameday – and for Renly. Hyle had suggested she keep up the theme of a bignameday: hiring out a party room at a restaurant in the centre of Storm’s End; full catering, a cocktail making demonstration; dancing and drinking until the early morn. Her father had gone along willingly, as glad as Brienne was to celebrate her nameday with friends. Hyle had even insinuated a few times that he was open to more. 

But it was all a lie. 

> **Hyle:** Can’t make your nameday after all. Sorry, Beauty.   
> **Ben:** Have fun eating all that food, Big Brienne.   
> **Eddy:** hahaha lmfao can’t believe you fell for that  
>  **Ron:** Happy 18th, Beauty. Sorry no one came, but no one could stomach looking at that ugly face of yours. 

The messages had begun to come through around half an hour after the party was due to start. Hyle had insisted on a _long_ invite list, but no one had come. Not her teammates on the rugby squad; not those she muddled along with in her classes. Even Renly, who she’d _thought_ was her friend, had not bothered to attend. Hadn’t even managed to come up with an excuse. Looking at his empty message screen, Brienne was startled as her phone vibrated once again. It was, thankfully, not another hateful message, but one from her father. 

> **Dad:** I hope you’re having a good night, Little Star. You deserve it.

Brienne didn’t know what to write back. She just stared at the screen until her vision went blurry. 

“Sorry, am I early?”

Brienne blinked. She looked across the function room to the open doorway and the _last_ person she had expected to see standing inside. Jaime Lannister, wearing skin-tight jeans and a white shirt, had come to her party. And he’d brought a _gift._ With Brienne rendered speechless by the arrival of the school’s good-looking golden boy, Jaime crossed the room and plonked himself into the seat beside her. 

“I thought I was _super_ late, but I guess everyone else is running behind. Or–or did I read the time wrong? I’ve been known to do that.” Jaime grinned and thrust the present in her direction. “Happy nameday, Brienne.” 

At that, she promptly burst into tears. Through the bleary haze, she could make out Jaime’s panicked expression. “No, _no,_ don’t cry. Please don’t cry. I know the wrapping is terrible and you’ll probably hate it, but—”

“—I’m not crying because of your gift,” Brienne said, wiping away her tears with the heel of her palm. “No one else is coming. No one else wanted to come.”

“What about your _boyfriend_?” Jaime asked. “Kyle something.”

“ _Hyle,”_ Brienne corrected.“He’s not my boyfriend, he’s a twat.”

“I won’t argue with you there.” A hand reached out, squeezing hers. “Let me get you something to drink. I’ll be right back.” 

Jaime stood up from the table, and, for a moment, Brienne wondered whether he would use that opportunity to abandon the sinking ship that was her nameday party. Instead, he went to the buffet table and poured her a glass of fruit punch. After he placed it gently down in front of her, he found two plates and loaded up on food. Garlic bread, pork sliders, chicken on skewers shaped like swords...two plates, piled high. Jaime shoved a miniature pigeon pie in his mouth before he sat down, pulling his chair closer to Brienne’s than necessary.

"This is a good spread,” he said, cleaning a sword skewer with his teeth. “Father forced me to attend some dinner party last month; catering was terrible. This is pretty good.”

“Thank you.” Brienne poked her food with a fork; her appetite had not yet returned. “I’m surprised you came.”

Jaime shrugged. “You invited me.” 

In truth, Hyle had been behind the guest list. _He probably invited Jaime to embarrass me even further. ‘The most popular boy at school ditched her party, and everyone else did, too’._ What Hyle hadn’t realised – what no one at Storm’s End Academy realised – was that she and Jaime had known each other for much longer than his admission at the start of the school year. Jaime’s Uncle Gerion had run a fishing business on Tarth for a time, and his nephew had often visited during the school holidays. They had been close until Jaime had returned to the Westerlands, and, when he’d started at Storm’s End Academy, Brienne had just accepted that people like them didn’t run in the same circles. Or, equally likely, that he’d forgotten her.

“This reminds me of your–was it your eighth nameday we spent together?” Jaime pondered, stabbing anything he could with his plastic sword skewer. “It was to that knights of the realm movie with the bad special effects; we were the only people in the cinema.”

Brienne brightened. “I remember.” It had been a good nameday, and the only one she had ever spent with a friend. “You were at the front door at 6am because you were so excited. You bought me a sword. Dad had to confiscate it in the end because I hit Roelle with it.” 

“Well deserved, from what I remember.” Jaime shuddered as he recalled Brienne’s former septa. “ _Anyway,_ hopefully, Selwyn won’t have to confiscate this gift.”

Jaime tapped the top of the present he’d brought. Hyle had insisted on a whole table being kept spare for people to leave their cards and gifts. The yellow tablecloth had taunted her all evening, but the shiny blue wrapping paper of Jaime’s present soothed her. She found an opening in the mess of Sellotape and tore into the package. It was a book! _A Complete Guide to the Knights of Westeros._

“You probably already have it,” Jaime blurted, running a hand through dark blonde hair. “You probably aren’t even into knights anymore, I’m sorry—”

“––no, Jaime, it’s _perfect.”_ She reached over and squeezed his hand, rewarded by a brush of his thumb against hers. “Really, I love it. And I haven’t read it yet. I’ve wanted to, though.” All 1028 pages and the hefty price tag. “Thank you so much.” 

Jaime beamed. Brienne tried not to stare directly into those bright green eyes; that soft curve of his mouth. As a boy, Jaime had been the golden knight of so many stories. As a young man, he resembled the actors and singers on the front covers of the teen magazines that Brienne secretly liked to buy. Any girl in school would sell their own family for the chance of _Jaime Lannister_ looking at them like he looked at Brienne now. She had his undivided attention, and Brienne felt utterly unsure what to do with it.

“I–I’m surprised you remembered,” Brienne uttered. Lion Boat Tours had packed up shop shortly after Brienne’s tenth nameday. “It was a long time ago.” 

“Oh, I never would have forgotten you. I mean, I had the _biggest_ crush on you when I was seven.” 

Brienne’s eyes grew wide; her grip tightening around her nameday gift. “I’m–I’m sorry?”

“I had a massive crush on you.” Jaime laughed in disbelief, leaning back in his seat as if it was completely normal to have a crush on Brienne the Beauty, and the only abnormality here was _her_ forgetting about it. “Come on, you must remember. All the times I got in trouble for staying late round yours? All the times I tried to kiss you on the cheek when we were playfighting? Come _on:_ every point you scored; I was kissing you. The Queen of Love and Beauty wreath you made that I wore every day until my Uncle had to throw it out because the flowers became rotten?” 

Brienne’s mouth fell open. “Jaime, I—”

“You really had no idea?” She shook her head. “So, I guess you have no idea that I still have a crush on you, then?” 

She squeaked. “What?” 

“Yeah! I _mean,_ I came back to the Stormlands for you. After I got expelled from Crakehall, I could have gone anywhere. But I wanted to head back here.” The green of his eyes caught the light, and Brienne suddenly felt warm all over. “I thought, _maybe,_ seeing you all grown up would put an end to my crush but _no._ You had to grow even taller, and even kinder, and I _swear_ you’ve even got more freckles.” Jaime’s face split into a huge grin before it quickly fell. “Then I saw you hanging around with Renly, and I figured you already had a boyfriend. When I heard he’d come out, I wondered if I had a shot, but then I saw you with Hyle. I never thought I stood a chance.”

“You’re Jaime _Lannister._ You always stood a chance.”

He shrugged. “That stuff never meant anything to you.” Jaime leaned close; impossibly close. “Everyone at that school is an idiot. But I’m kind of glad they didn’t come. I’ve been wanting to get you alone for months.”

“Why?”

“So, I could do what I should have done when I was a kid and kissed the fair maiden on her lips instead of her cheek.”

Brienne shook her head. “I’m not a maiden.”

“You’re right; you’re a knight. A brave knight of the realm rescuing lonely little boys and even lonelier young men. Can I still kiss you, though?”

She nodded, and Jaime practically lunged forward. One hand slid along the firm length of her jaw while the other anchored itself on her shoulder. His nose brushed hers before Jaime’s lips left a firm kiss across her mouth. When Brienne leaned forward, seeking a deeper kiss, Jaime acquiesced to her nameday request. His lips tasted like the sugary fruit punch; his hair softer than Brienne had ever imagined as she carded her fingers through it. They continued to kiss until a waiter bustled in, disturbing their intimate embrace years in the making. He quickly backed out of the room, leaving the two teenagers alone one more.

Jaime left a lingering kiss to her cheek; his smile infectious. “Happy nameday, Brienne. I hope it wasn’t all bad.”

“I wished for you,” she whispered, brushing her thumb across Jaime’s bottom lip. “When I was eight, I blew out my candles, and I wished for a kiss from the handsome knight I played with.”

“Sorry I was late.”

“You were worth the wait.” And he was. Jaime Lannister was the best present she had ever been –and would ever be – given.


End file.
